Tilt meter of mount Bromo gone

Antara News, Wed, March 30 2011

"Besides the tilt meter, some radio transmission cable connectors were also damaged when device had been removed forcefully."

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Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA News) - A tilt meter worth 125 million rupiahs at mount Bromo was reported to be missing and suspected to have been stolen, an official said here Tuesday.

The device that was installed on Bromo`s caldera or the sand fields (forbidden area within one kilometer radius) to detect the volcano`s early activities, was reported missing on March 25, the Head of Earthquake and Geological Hazard Mitigation of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre (PVMBG) I Gede Suantika said.

"Local police are now investigating the case," Gede said.

Besides the tilt meter, some radio transmission cable connectors were also damaged when device had been removed forcefully.

According to Gede it appeared that there were more than one thief, because it took more than one person and special tools to remove the special apparatus.

"I reckon the thieves understood the device`s utility, whereas not many people know the purpose of the device," he said.

Gede merely said that the device is very useful to measure a building`s structure.

Although the Bromo tilt meter has gone, the volcano`s activities can still be monitored regularly as the agency still has other volcano detectors and sensors.

"The missing tilt meter does not affect mount Bromo`s monitoring activities too much, in fact the agency is willing to replace it with a new one in near future.

Editor: Heru

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Deadly flood kills a villager

Antara News, Mon, March 28 2011

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Ciamis, W Java (ANTARA News) - The body of a resident who was carried by the strong water currents in Padamulya village, West Java province, was finally found on Monday afternoon.

Ikin (70) was found with so many injuries on his body, Head of Ciamis natural disaster mitigation office Odang Ruhiyat Widjaja said here Monday evening.

He said the injuries might have been caused by stones and wood logs hitting the victim`s body when carried by the currents.

Ikin`s body had been evacuated to a local health center, he said.

The muddy flooding did not only claim a the life of a person, but also threatened the those of at least 100 families.

According to Head of the Ciamis district`s volunteers for natural disaster response division, Ade Deni, due to their great fear of another flooding and landslide, more than 100 families planned to take refuge to higher grounds.

"The number of these families may continue to rise," he said, adding that the rescue workers had prepared two emergency tents for about 70 refugees.

Ade Deni said the displaced people did not only go the emergency tents but also to the Cihaurbeuti subdistrict office and the houses of their neighbors and relatives.

The local government was expected to transport humanitarian aid packages to the displaced people, he said.

The muddy floods inundated several hundreds of houses in the village after torrential rain in the area triggered a landslide on Monday at 3 PM local time.

The landslide materials fell into the village river and caused overflowing, he said.

Over the past year, Indonesia has been undergoing an extreme weather phenomenon, which was partly characterized with heavy rains and whirlwinds.

As the consequence of the torrential rains and whirlwinds, various vulnerable parts of the country have experienced flash floods and landslides.

Floods had also inundated around 6,761 houses in five sub-districts of Pandeglang district, Banten province, since Sunday evening.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

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Rare elephant found dead in Indonesia

The Strait Times, Mar 27, 2011

JAKARTA - A RARE Sumatran elephant has died in Indonesia after blocking a village street for a week, an official said Sunday.

The female elephant was in a 'weak condition' after becoming separated from its herd about a week ago in Bengkalis district, Riau province, conservation agency official Adit Gunawan told AFP.

'It was hungry. We gave it food, water and medical attention. We tried our best to nurse it back to health but it wasn't getting better and died on Saturday evening,' he said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is being carried out, he said.

Antara state news agency reported that the elephant, along with her two calves, had been blocking a tarred road near a housing complex since last Monday. The elephant could have been poisoned, the report added.

However Gunawan said there was only one calf, which would be taken to the agency's elephant training centre and 'may be released to the wild again if conditions allow'. -- AFP

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Dutchman designs bamboo garden house

RNW, 26 March 2011, by RNW News Desk

(Photo: ANP)

Costa Rica’s building bust made Dutch designer Erwin Schuster of Bamboo Groove Housing move back to Amsterdam to sell his steel-bamboo garden houses here in Holland, as well as Belgium and Germany.

After working for an Amsterdam design studio for over 12 years, Schuster and his partner moved to Costa Rica hoping to set up a bed-and-breakfast. Instead, he soon found himself building houses made of old containers and bamboo, something which had never been done before.

New opportunities

When, five years later, the global slump caught up with Costa Rica, buying a new house became cheaper than having one custom-built by Schuster. So a year ago he decided to return to Holland and create new opportunities here.

The environment and renewable energy are a key element of his designs. “Bamboo is an important alternative to wood”, he says in his Amsterdam home. “All you need to do is to chop it. No need to plant it again.” A bamboo grove graces the back of his garden, along with one of his own garden houses, which has a clean, modern look, typical Dutch Design. It’s a place to withdraw, read and think.

Bamboo roof

Demand for his garden houses is up as a result of the same crisis that drove him back to Holland. As people are struggling and finding it harder to buy bigger houses, the garden house is an ideal solution to get more space. “With a bit of maintenance, my garden house lasts at least 30 years.”

In Amsterdam, he is also helping build a community centre--with a bamboo roof.

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Snakes on the plane: Jakarta police foil smuggling bid

BBC News, 26 March 2011

Customs officers found the sedated pythons
in the men's bags

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Indonesian customs officials have arrested two men suspected of trying to take 40 snakes on to a flight to Dubai.

The two were about to enter the departure area at Jakarta airport when X-rays showed their bags were filled with sedated pythons, officials say.

The two suspects told investigators they planned to sell the animals to collectors in the United Arab Emirates, the AP news agency reports.

They face up to seven years in jail if found guilty of attempted smuggling.

"People often use the flights to Dubai to smuggle illegal animals," an official at Jakarta airport told AFP news agency.

"For the sake of flight safety and security, no animals are allowed to be brought on to aircraft without permission and special handling," the official, Salahudin Rafi, added.

The pythons have been taken to the animal quarantine centre at Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta airport.

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Landslide cuts off road in Madiun

Antara News, Sat, March 26 2011

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Madiun, East Java (ANTARA News) - A landslide which hit Bodag village, Kare sub district, Madiun district, damaged a house and cut off land transportation.

The landslide seriously damaged one house and blocked roads connecting four villages at Bodag, Sugito, Bodag village chief, said here Saturday.

Heavy rains falling at the village located in the slope of Mount Wilis since Friday afternoon, triggered the landslide, he said.

Local volunteers were trying to clear out the buried roads from mud an rocks, he said.

Two weeks ago, 12 people had been killed in floods and landslides that occurred in Pidie, Aceh, Indonesia`s northern most country.

"Twelve people have been killed and four others were reported missing," head of data and information and public relations of the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said to ANTARA when contacted from Jakarta to confirm the incident, last March 12.

The floods and landslides happened following incessant rains since Thursday (March 10) that forced more than 7,000 people in the district to seek refuge in safer places.

District head Mirza Ismail said on Saturday he was still recording the evacuees.

He said 47 houses have been destroyed and hundred others have been damaged. Some bridges, two schools and two mosques have also been damaged.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

Floods inundate three villages in E Java

Antara News, Fri, March 25 2011

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Mojokerto, E Java (ANTARA News) - Floods caused by the overflowing of Lamong river in Dawarblandong subdistrict, Mojokerto district, East Java, caused inundation of three villages on Thursday.

The flood waters had submerged Talun, Banyulegi and Pulorejo villages since early Thursday but it would naturally recede in the next two to three days, head of Banyulegi village Zainuri said.

The flood waters came too sudden and inundated a number of houses, causing some families to take refuge to buildings on higher ground such as mosques and the village community centers.

A local resident, Suparno, said Lamong river usually overflowed and caused flooding of three villages as they were low lying. But there were no reports of fatalities.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

WWF asks Riau to stop conflict between humans and elephants

Antara News, Thu, March 24 2011

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - The Riau World Wide Fund for Nature is trying to put an end to the conflict between humans and elephants (elephas maximus) by rehabilitating and restoring their habitats at the Balai Raja fauna reserve, Bengkalis district, a conservationist said.

"We keep encouraging the government to rehabilitate the habitats of the wild elephants at Balai Raja," Syamsidar, WWF-Riau media relations officer, said here on Thursday.

Syamsidar said that Balai Raja in 1990 covered 16,000 hectares when it was run as a fauna reserve but now it has been much reduced to 120 hectares of secondary forested land.

He also said that even with the remaining area, it was still converted into human settlements and palm oil plantations causing the elephants to become marginalized creating conflicts with human beings.

In a latest incident last week, she said, a wild female elephant and her baby had been made paralyzed by poisoning near a human settlement. Those elephants were in weak condition.

Head of Region III of Riau Nature Resource Agency (BKSDA)B. Hutomo said that that the location where the two elephants had been paralyzed was also a passage of the beasts for a long time.

As more people came to live near the area, the beasts might feel disturbed and fought the human beings from time to time, he added. In last week`s incident, the elephants could become dehydrated as humans kept them away from water sources.

Hutomo said that the agency was trying to cure elephants, and drive them back to their habitats.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

Cirebon district to rehabilitate community forests

Antara News, Tue, March 22 2011

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Sumber, W. Java (ANTARA News) - The Cirebon district administration is to rehabilitate 200 hectares of community forest area and green 175 hectares of open space in 2011, a local official said here Tuesday.

"This year we are going to rehabilitate 200 hectares of community forest area and 175 hectares of open land lots," head of forest and land rehabilitation unit of Cirebon district`s agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry office, Dirman said.

He said the rehabilitation of community forests is to add to the existing tree population in forests owned by the people, while the open spaces to be greened would be roadsides, river banks as well as at public facilities.

For the greening the office will prepare 275 thousand seedlings including jati/teak (Tectona grandis), albazia, mahogany and jabon (Antocephalus codambaa) tress.

Especially for jabon tree, is now being a favorite, the quality is almost the same as teak but is still underneath.

In addition, the office will prepare 5,000 mango trees and 10 thousand petai (Parkia speciosa) tree.

Two special types of plants are for greening the environment, Dirman noted.

"For the environment greening the trees planted is productive trees, besides in order to shade and land reinforcement, the fruit can be used," he added.

The reforestation activity is currently under preparation and it is expected that in June is a period of seedling nursery. . "Usually between the nursery to the planting period takes between four to six months, so the planting is expected in November or December 2011," Dirman explained.

The areas which will be greened are spread across 20 sub districts of 40 districts in which it has degraded land.

Dirman noted, the percentage forest area in the district was about 20 percent, while the recommended nationally about 30 percent.

Editor: Suryanto

Over 1,000 houses along code river flooded

Antara News, Sun, March 20 2011

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - A flood triggered by heavy rains inundated at least 1,190 houses along Code riverbank in Yogyakarta on Saturday evening.

"The number of flooded houses along the Code riverbank is based on the result of a survey made shortly after the flood receded," Chief of the Secretariat of the Yogyakarta City Natural Disaster Mitigation Office (BKPBD) Sudarsono said on Sunday.

The flood affected a total of 4,369 people who lived in 14 villages in eight subdistricts, he said.

Many residents evacuated to safer areas when the river began to overflow. However, some of them had returned home by Sunday morning to rid their houses of mud left by the flood, he said.

In the worst-hit areas the flood water level reached up to 150 cm, he said.

To meet evacuees` needs the local authorities had prepared logistics including rice and instant noodle enough for three days, he said.

"We are also preparing a public health service unit to help evacuees who have health problems," he said.

The flood caused sand sediment at the river to increase by 5-10 cm.

Sudarsono said all residents living along riverbanks in the city should be on the alert when heavy rains fell on their areas.

"The public should keep abreast of developments to avoid unexpected things," he said.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

Merapi cold lava flood buries 21 homes

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 03/20/2011

No one was killed after a flood of volcanic material from Mount Merapi buried 21 houses in Sleman, Central Java, on Saturday night.

Flood waters started entering Agromulyo village early Saturday evening after heavy rains earlier in the afternoon, according to Sri Nurani, a local resident.

“First it was just hot, murky water flowing through a path in the middle of the village, but it started getting stronger and was followed by material such as sand and stone,” she said on Sunday, as quoted by kompas.com.

A family of three that was slow to join the evacuation of area near Gendol River after the rain started reportedly suffered from burns.

Sunaryo, a victim, said that the flood came too quickly for him to escape.

“This is the biggest flood I have ever seen,” he said.

Dozens of motorcycles and several livestock animals were also buried in the flood.

Alert level at Indonesia volcano raised to highest

Indonesia has raised the alert level at one of its most active volcanos to the highest after it repeatedly sent hot clouds of gas down its slopes.

The Seatlle Times, The Associated Press, JAKARTA, Indonesia —

Indonesia has raised the alert level at one of its most active volcanos to the highest after it repeatedly sent hot clouds of gas down its slopes.

Volcanology hazard mitigation chief Surono says authorities have been ordered to evacuate people living along Mount Karangetang's slopes.

He says the 5,853-foot (1,784-meter) mountain on Siau, part of the Sulawesi island chain, spewed hot clouds of gas at least seven times Friday. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

It last erupted in August, killing four people.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

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Antara News, Fri, March 18 2011

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Manado, N Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific "ring of fire", a volcanologically active terrestrial chain where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions can happen any time, Syamsul Maarif, head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said.

"The Pacific `ring of fire` that stretches from a point in the Northern Pacific all the way to Indonesia poses the constant threat of major natural disasters," Syamsul said here Friday.

Syamsul was explaining Indonesia`s geographical position to a gathering of North Sulawesi local government officials and women organizations in relation with disaster management at the North Sulawesi Governor`s office.

The spread was also touched in a series of the ASEAN Regional Forum-Disaster Relief Exercise (ARF-Direx) in Manado and North Minahasa on from March 14 to 20, 2011.

The Pacific ring of Fire is also believed to have the potential to trigger volcanic eruptions, especially as every year Indonesia normally have volcanic eruptions.

Syamsul said that Indonesia rests on three main active tectonic plates namely the Euroasia, Pacific and Indo-Australian plates.

"The three tectonic plates often moved which triggered earthquakes in Indonesia each year," he said.

Indonesia has about 17 thousand islands and 81 thousand meters of coastline, or the second longest in the world, and has a population of approximately 234 million, the world`s fourth largest.

Syamsul said seen from the point of view of disasters, all corners of the Indonesian archipelago including North Sulawesi Province are prone to disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and tsunamis.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

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Michelle Obama to write gardening book

US first lady to publish book about healthy eating and the vegetable patch she created at the White House

guardian.co.uk, Ewen MacAskill in Washington, Thursday 17 March 2011

Michelle Obama takes part in the third planting of the White House
kitchen garden with local children on Wednesday. Photograph: AP

Michelle Obama is hoping to join her husband on the bestseller lists with a book devoted to her experience of creating a vegetable plot on the White House lawn.

The book, due in April next year, will detail the US first lady's pet project, set up as part of a campaign against obesity, and will be padded out with the Obamas' favourite healthy recipes.

Given the success of books by previous first ladies, it is almost certain to become a bestseller. Barack Obama made a small fortune from his autobiography, Dreams From My Father, and a political treatise, Audacity of Hope, but the proceeds of his wife's book will to go to charity.

Michelle Obama dug her first vegetable garden on the White House lawn in March 2008, two months after Barack Obama became president, and has grown about 55 varieties, most of whichare used by the White House chefs. As well as vegetables, such as lettuce, peppers and spinach, Obama and her team of helpers also grow herbs and berries.

She was out on the lawn again on Wednesday for photographers to mark the garden's third season.

In an interview with AP, she said she wanted to share the story of the garden with the rest of the nation and perhaps the rest of the world because she "received so many questions about it: How did we do it? Why did we do it? How do I do this in my own home or community?"

Eleanor Roosevelt had a "victory" garden at the White House during the second world war and the Clintons made a modest effort, with a few vegetable pots on the White House roof. Michelle Obama did not have a vegetable plot in her home city, Chicago, but was persuaded by advocates of healthy eating to take it up as project when she moved to Washington.

She has said she was partly influenced by a paediatrician who expressed concern about the diet of the Obama children, Malia and Sasha, brought up in Chicago on processed, fast-foods such as pizza, and how they might put on weight.

Obama said her book, which will be written with the help of a ghost-writer, will have the president's input in some capacity. "I will definitely have him be involved and look at it," the first lady told AP.

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Storm strikes Jakarta, trees, mall roof brought down

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 03/16/2011

Towers and the sky: Dark clouds hover above Jakarta as the city braces for
heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon. The Meteorology, Climatology and
Geophysics Agency claims that man-made carbon emissions constitute
43 percent of the factors affecting the climate apart from the La Nina and
El Nino effects. (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)

A sudden heavy rainstorm hit Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon, causing several trees to fall and a roof in a mall to collapse.

Several trees and bill boards fell on cars on Jl. T Nyak Arif in South Jakarta, tribunnews.com reported.

The incident caused heavy traffic congestion from Kebayoran to Slipi in West Jakarta.

Strong winds caused a roof at Senayan City mall to collapse, causing momentary panic among visitors.

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Tiger smuggler suspect busted following BKSDA, WWF joint investigation

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 03/12/2011

A suspected tiger smuggler has been arrested in West Sumatra following a three-day investigation by the Natural Resource Conservation Agency in Riau and West Sumatra Province (BKSDA), WWF Indonesia reported Saturday.

The investigation also resulted in the seizure of the skin of an adult male tiger believed to have been poisoned inside or near a wildlife reserve in Sumatra’s Riau Province, it added.

After receiving a report on Feb. 28 that a poacher had poisoned a tiger near Rimbang Baling Wildlife Reserve in Kampar District, BKSDA Riau and WWF Riau’s Tiger Protection Unit staked out the area in Kampar District for two days.

“Our goal was not only to help government arresting the local poacher, but to see if we could track the tiger carcass to someone higher up in the smuggling network,” said Chairul Saleh, Wildlife Conservation Specialist with WWF Indonesia in a press statement on Saturday.

“We need to break the smuggling networks that are decimating our Sumatran tiger population, so we have to go as high up the ladder as possible,” Chairul said.

BKSDA Riau tracked a courier suspected of picking up a piece of Sumatran tiger skin and bones from the poached tiger to Balung, a border area located between Riau and West Sumatra provinces. The courier was then seen handing over the tiger skin to the suspect, who travelled to Payakumbuh, West Sumatra. BKSDA West Sumatra was then called to join the operation.

 After detecting the smell of chemicals often used to preserve tiger skins at the suspect’s house, a WWF Tiger Patrol Unit member was able to locate the skin. However, the tiger’s bones, which are highly valued on the black market for their supposed medicinal value, were not recovered. Other wildlife was also discovered in the house, including a python and body parts of a Serrow (a local species of mountain goat) and muntjac, or barking deer, according to BKSDA.

Kurnia Rauf, Head of BKSDA Riau said, “We believe the suspect has a extensive international wildlife trade network in Sumatra; therefore we expect law enforcement in this case can be done as soon as possible.

We’re ready to help provide necessary data to help the judicial process of this case, hoping that the maximum sentence can be enforced to create a deterrent effect to other poachers.”

Suhandri, leader of WWF-Indonesia’s Program in Riau said, “WWF strongly urges law enforcement agencies in West Sumatra to take this case seriously and to seek the maximum penalty to deter this poacher and others. Sumatran tigers are critically endangered and poaching is one of the top threats to their survival.”

The unnamed suspect was detained at the Payakumbuh Police Station in West Sumatra. Police also seized a minivan allegedly used to transport the tiger skin as evidence.

The arrest comes as Indonesia and the 12 other nations that still have wild tigers embark on building the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, an initiative launched at the International Tiger Conservation Forum in Russia last November that seeks to double the number of tigers within

the next 12 years. A follow-up meeting, the International Conference on Tiger Conservation, will be held from March 28–30 in New Delhi, India.

Kurnia said that the Forestry Ministry was also strengthening its collaboration with partners on the protection of Sumatran tiger population in its natural habitat to increase population of Sumatran tiger by 3 percent per year as mandated in the National Strategic Plan of Sumatran Tiger Conservation 2007-2017.

The Sumatran tiger population is estimated at 400 individuals, with as few as 3,200 tigers remaining in the wild across Asia and the Russian Far East.

Volcano in eastern Indonesia erupts, spews gas cloud

By The Associated Press (CP), Mar 11, 2011

JAKARTA, Indonesia — One of Indonesia's most active volcanos has erupted, sending lava and searing gas clouds tumbling down its slopes.

Volcanology official Agus Budianto said Friday that authorities were still trying to evacuate residents living along the slopes of Mount Karangetang.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.

The 5,853-foot (1,784-meter) mountain is located on Siau, part of the Sulawesi island chain. It last erupted in August, killing four people.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is located on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

The eruption happened hours after a massive earthquake in Japan that triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami.

10-Centimeter Minor Tsunami Hits Halmahera, North Maluku

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, March 11, 2011

Estimated tsunami travel time. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning for a large swath of the Pacific
including Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Central and
South America. (AFP Photo)

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A harmless 10-centimeter swell has hit the coast of North Halmahera in North Maluku, an official said.

Fauzi, a geophysicist from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said the minor tsunami was now headed to Bitung, Manado, in North Sulawesi.

However, he said that people should remain on alert because the danger had not yet passed.

BMKG earlier warned that a tsunami might be heading to Papua, North Maluku and North Sulawesi after the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in northeastern Japan.

There are no reports yet of swells hitting other coastal areas in Indonesia.

Taiwanese authorities said earlier on Friday that minor tsunamis reached the island's coastline without causing any damage.

Waves around 10 centimeters high hit Taiwan's east and northeast coasts in the evening, the central weather bureau said.

The bureau said it did not expect more and bigger waves but will only lift the warning when the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center does so.

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Flash floods kill nine, sweep away hundreds of houses in Aceh

Antara News, Fri, March 11 2011

Washed away: Locals walk along what is left of a road that was
destroyed by a flash flood that hit Tangse district in Pidie, Aceh,
on Thursday. (Antara)

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Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - Flash floods triggered by incessant heavy rains over the past two days in mountainous area in Tangse sub district, Pidie District, Aceh Province, killed nine people and swept away hundreds of houses on Thursday at around 11.30 pm Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB).

The disaster killed nine people and made around 21 others missing, said Ibnu Sa`dan of the Aceh disaster mitigation office, here, Friday.

"According to information from our staff, Wahyudi, in the field, nine people were found dead and 21 are missing in the disaster," he said.

The flash floods have also damaged a number of public facilities.

Makmur Ibrahim, a spokesman of the Aceh provincial administration, said relief aid and volunteers have been dispatch to the flood-affected villages.

"We have sent relief aid, medicines and volunteers to the flood-hit locations. Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf will visit Tangse this afternoon (Friday, March 11)," he said.

Tangse is located around 50 km from Sigli town, the capital of Pidie District, or 170 km from Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province.

Three emergency camps have been set up in Tangse so far.

Meanwhile, earlier, Asmadi Syam, head of the Aceh disaster mitigation office, said flash floods hit at least seven villages in Tangse sub district, Pidie District, Aceh Darussalam Province, Thursday evening.

The seven flood-affected villages are Blang Pandak, Blang Dalam, Layan, Peunalom 1, Peunalom 2, Kuala Krueng, and Krueng Meriam.

Reports of casualties and material losses were not immediately available, he said.

The Aceh authorities have dispatched relief aid consisting of kitchenware, one ton of rice, 10 boxes of canned fish, 10 boxes of cooking oil, 400 boxes of instant noddles and clothes, according to Burhanuddin, a spokesman of the Aceh provincial social affairs office.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

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